Political structure

Official name

Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia

Form of state

Federal republic

Legal system

The federal constitution was promulgated by the transitional authorities in December 1994; in May 1995 representatives were elected to the institutions of the new republic, which came formally into being in August 1995

National legislature

The Federal Assembly consists of the House of People's Representatives (lower house; 547 members) and the Council of the Federation (upper house; 108 members); the nine regional state councils have limited powers, including that of appointing members of the Council of the Federation

National elections

May 2010 (federal and regional); next elections due in May 2015

Head of state

President—a largely ceremonial role, appointed by the House of People's Representatives; currently Mulatu Teshome (president since October 2013)

National government

The prime minister and his cabinet (Council of Ministers)

Main political parties

The Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front (EPRDF) won all but two of the seats in parliament in the election in May 2010; it evolved from the coalition of armed groups that seized power in May 1991: the Tigray People's Liberation Front, the Amhara National Democratic Movement, the Southern Ethiopia People's Democratic Movement and the Oromo People's Democratic Organisation; opposition parties include Unity for Democracy and Justice (UDJ), the United Ethiopian Democratic Party-Medhin (UEDP-Medhin), the United Ethiopian Democratic Forces (UEDF) and the Oromo Federalist Democratic Movement (OFDM)